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IF THE SERIOUSNESS of politicians' ambitions can be measured by how quickly they return media calls, the four Boston city councilors looking at next year's Suffolk County district-attorney race are already beside themselves with desire. The proof? When I tried to reach the four councilors eyeing the seat Ralph Martin will vacate next fall, I got immediate callbacks. " I'm very interested in the position, and I think I'm very well qualified for it, " says Daniel Conley of Hyde Park, who returned my call in less than 10 minutes, and proudly related his work on " homicides, major felonies, and major investigations. " His colleagues Brian Honan of Allston-Brighton and at-large councilor Michael Flaherty - both, like Conley, former assistant district attorneys - called me back within an hour; Honan was even willing to endure two rapid-fire rounds of phone tag in order to get out his message: " I'm definitely looking at the race. " Councilor Paul Scapicchio of the North End, a real-estate attorney who was mentioned as a potential candidate by the Globe last Sunday, May 6, played it closer to the vest. He insists that for now, all he's thinking about is his upcoming re-election. " I haven't done anything other than feel complimented that people think I could be a candidate, " he says. But he did return my call in 35 minutes - and quickly noted that " obviously I would certainly in the future or at some point think about " running for DA.

Current Suffolk County DA Ralph Martin's May 1 announcement that he won't seek re-election in 2002 created a stir on the council, but the flurry of activity wasn't the first sign that councilors are looking for a change in their routines. Four-term at-large councilor Peggy Davis-Mullen is giving up her seat in a long-shot bid to oust Mayor Tom Menino, and Maura Hennigan of Jamaica Plain - who was first elected in 1981, when the entire council served at large, and has served as a district councilor since 1983 - is leaving her seat to run at large again for the first time in 20 years. At-large councilor Stephen Murphy told the Phoenix last Friday that he's " taking a serious look " at the seat of Congressman Joe Moakley, who has decided not to run for re-election because he has incurable cancer. (See " Another Contender for Moakley's Seat, " available on the Web at www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/this_just_in/documents/01503953.htm.)

In short, more than half the council's 13 members are re-examining their political careers. Because five are eyeing races next year and wouldn't have to give up their own seats to run, the current political maneuvering probably won't result in many new faces on the council. But it does point to some of the boredom and frustration that causes many councilors, stymied by the body's limited ability to set an agenda in the face of Menino's bulldozer-like clout, to search for greener political pastures. And this year, with a number of higher-placed pols leaving their seats and creating tantalizing job openings, the jockeying and intrigue on the Boston City Council will be the most frenzied in nearly a decade.

IT'S NOT easy being a city councilor. " The council is just not a place where you can really get things done, " says John Nucci, who used to serve on the body and is now the Suffolk County clerk of courts. " It can be effective as a bully pulpit for ideas, and it can be used as an incubator for new ideas, but you don't get the satisfaction of actually making change or doing anything substantive. " Because the city's charter grants so much power to the mayor - and not the council - the job can become wearying. " You find yourself doing heavy-duty constituent services, lots of community meetings, filling potholes, and finding people summer jobs, " says Susan Tracy, a political consultant and former state rep from Allston-Brighton. " It's fulfilling on some level, but it's hard to do year after year. So it shouldn't be surprising that young people on the council with ambition, who want to do things with their life, look at options. "

Besides, the end of former council president Jimmy Kelly's seven-year reign has caused new tensions as well as new alliances. Says Murphy, " I can't speak for other people, but it hasn't been as fun for me since January. There was a much more collegial atmosphere and now people might dread going in [to work]. " The council's deteriorating relationship with Menino hasn't helped. Says Democratic political consultant Michael Goldman, " These people can't wait to escape. "

For the ambitious, the council is a pretty good start for a political career - Goldman describes it as " a place to gain some small measure of electoral credibility and some small measure of local name recognition. " But it's hard to get out of the starting gate. Because long-serving pols build war chests and favorability ratings that make their defeat almost impossible, talented contenders often get stuck at lower rungs like the Boston City Council, creating a free-for-all when an opening finally presents itself (see " The Domino Theory, " News and Features, January 5, 2001). Such explosions occurred in 1983, when at-large councilors Ray Flynn and Frederick Langone gave up their seats to run in a hotly contested mayoral race and - thanks to the advent of district representation, which suddenly created nine new openings - 66 people were on the council ballot. A decade later, when Mayor Flynn (who had triumphed in 1983) decamped to become ambassador to the Vatican, another electoral brawl ensued. This one pitted Hyde Park district councilor Tom Menino - who as council president had been named acting mayor - against his at-large colleagues Rosaria Salerno and Bruce Bolling (at-large councilor John Nucci also briefly entered the race, but dropped back into a council re-election bid).

The next year and a half promises to be another such time: Davis-Mullen and Hennigan are mixing it up this fall, and 2002 promises a cornucopia of races (for governor, Congress, Suffolk County district attorney and probably secretary of state, treasurer, and various seats in the state legislature). " The stars are lining up in a way they only do every eight or 10 years, " says Tracy.

There will be at least one new city councilor come fall, in the Jamaica Plain/West Roxbury district seat. So far, West Roxbury residents John Tobin and Mike Rush, both of whom lost to Hennigan in 1999, are the only candidates on the horizon. (Two from the more liberal Jamaica Plain side of the tracks - Jose Vincenty, who lost an at-large council bid in 1993, and Frank Jones, who was defeated at large in 1995 and 1997 - flirted with a run but ultimately decided against it.) The two remaining candidates are " new blood " Gen X-ers, but are viewed as politically moderate. Ideologically, says liberal political observer Gary Dotterman, " if Tobin or Rush is elected in that district, the council is not going to change. "

There could also be another new face, if Hennigan fails in her at-large transition. Many find her bid puzzling, since she's giving up a " safe " seat to run for one in which she would perform virtually the same duties. It's true that, in the past, she has faced more serious electoral opposition than many of her district colleagues. But her fellow district councilor Dan Conley casts her motives in a different light. " Maura has gotten very interested in development issues, " he says. " When you're a councilor from West Roxbury, or myself in Hyde Park and Roslindale, it's a quasi-suburban atmosphere, and we're not touched by that so much. I think Maura got really interested in the issue and felt she should be on at large if she wants to delve into that. " The critics are divided on her chances of success. " I think she would be very difficult to beat, " says Goldman. " She's perceived to have done a good job, she's been there a while, and ... her name recognition is high. " But political consultant Jim Spencer is skeptical. While he acknowledges that liberals and women might be likely to support a woman on the ballot (Hennigan is so far the only female running at large), he says that " her campaign clearly has not jelled yet. She doesn't seem to be out there very strongly yet; her message is not defined. " Nucci also questions her ability to turn out voters. " She doesn't have a huge base, " he says. " She was always the lesser of two evils in the district race for JP - I'm not sure that's a base for a citywide race. "

If Hennigan falters, challengers Felix Arroyo (a former Boston School Committee member) and Rob Consalvo (an aide to Hyde Park state rep Angelo Scaccia) will be on her heels. Both are already drawing praise for their aggressive campaigning. Nucci is bullish on Consalvo, who is " the only Italian on the ballot, with a voting base in Hyde Park and West Roxbury. " " Those are two pretty formidable pieces to bring into the campaign, " he says. " That also means he'll have a lock on the North End and East Boston ethnic vote. " Arroyo has also generated excitement, particularly in the minority community, and has earned the endorsement of council president Charles Yancey and Chuck Turner of Roxbury.

But even if Arroyo and Consalvo can't knock her off, the runner-up slot may be more important than usual this year. If, say, Michael Flaherty won the race for Suffolk County district attorney in 2002, he would have to leave the council halfway through his term - and the vacancy would go to the person who finished fifth in the at-large race. Such an ascent last happened in 1997, when Stephen Murphy took over for Richard Iannella, who had been elected Suffolk County register of probate. " Let's say Felix Arroyo finishes fifth in the council race, " says McCormack. " He'll immediately become Michael Flaherty's biggest booster. " (Because Conley, Honan, and Scapicchio are district councilors, their challengers do not have right of succession; if any of them became DA, a special election would be held.)

THERE'S NO clear front-runner at this point in the DA race - and not all of those whose names have been bandied about may ultimately decide to run. But each has his strengths. " Michael has run citywide and that gives him, all other things being equal, a slight advantage, " says former councilor Larry DiCara. Nucci agrees that Flaherty has good name recognition, but adds that " Conley has a big war chest [$250,000], and Honan has a significant war chest [$100,000] and strong State House contacts " because his brother, Kevin, is the representative from Allston-Brighton and chair of the Boston delegation. As for Scapicchio, " If he's the only Italian on the ballot, it's going to help with areas like Revere, Chelsea, and Winthrop, but he still has to increase his name recognition in the city of Boston. "

Some are concerned that four Boston candidates with similar credentials could cancel out each other's votes. McCormack speculates that, as a result, an outsider could pull an upset: " I'd be looking outside the normal political landscape for a prosecutor type who comes in with a clean image and who could get the attention of the press quickly and all of a sudden became a real candidate. " Spencer raises the possibility that another minority candidate could successfully follow in Ralph Martin's footsteps. Goldman can think of plenty of other qualified politicos. " A lot of interesting names are being floated - a lot of them, " he says. " Even to the point of Tom Finneran's name, Sal DiMasi [state rep from the North End], Marian Walsh [state senator from West Roxbury], Gene O'Flaherty [state rep from Charlestown]. All of these people would be equal or superior to those coming out of the council. " Says Nucci, " I think Finneran could be the 800-pound gorilla in the race - he'd be virtually unbeatable. " But he suspects the Speaker wouldn't be willing to give up the power he currently wields. His deputy DiMasi - who reportedly got in hot water with Finneran last week for his ham-fisted attempt to exact retribution against Clean Elections supporters in the House - could be a likelier candidate. " I've thought of DiMasi, " says Nucci. " But I haven't heard his name. I think DiMasi could be a good candidate. " Suffolk County also includes Revere, Chelsea, and Winthrop - a strong candidate from outside the city could galvanize support. Plus, warns Dotterman, " We haven't seen who the Republicans are going to drop in that race - it's not an automatically Democratic seat. "

With plenty of potential challengers, and the race a year and a half away, none of the four city councilors may end up as DA. Then again, they have virtually nothing to lose by running, since they don't have to give up their seats. (Nucci warns, though, that they shouldn't be too obvious about their interest before their current re-election bids, because it could make voters perceive them as not committed to the council.) Similarly, Stephen Murphy could sail to re-election this year, and pursue the Ninth Congressional District seat from the safety of his council perch in 2002 (if Moakley is able to finish his term). The Ninth " is a very strong part of the city for me, " says Murphy, " and since no one else from the city is running, and I know I have a strong political base and I believe it should be a city seat, I'm taking a serious look at it. "

It is possible that at least four new councilors will be seated by next November, though there will probably be fewer. But regardless of the actual turnover, the very fact that so many councilors are considering a run for higher office changes the dynamic on the body. " Everybody in there is always aware - everybody's trying to get the sound bite in the press, and there's a lot of animosity because of that, " says Greg Timilty, a political observer who ran unsuccessfully for the council in 1999 and may try again in 2003. Murphy is particularly concerned about the potential for the DA scuffle to pit so many councilors against each other: " I don't think it will do a lot for esprit de corps. " Tracy speculates that candidates for higher office will try to ingratiate themselves with their at-large colleagues, as well as with those from high-turnout districts. She adds, " Council-presidency votes will come into play, and everyone will see each other in terms of opportunities. " Indeed, being elected president by fellow councilors would be a definite boost for anyone running in 2002 (at this point, probably Conley, Flaherty, Honan, Murphy, and possibly Scapicchio), for it would represent a vote of confidence and a means to extra publicity. Honan narrowly missed winning the office last year, and may have better luck this time around.

The upcoming races - and the changes in power and position they could entail - are months, even years, away. But with seven political futures riding on them, every summer job procured and pothole filled takes on a whole new meaning.

Dorie Clark can be reached at dclark[a]phx.com.

Issue Date: May 10-17, 2001